Give a hand to help Project Daffodil bloom again
It's not too early to think about next spring, especially if the sight of large patches of blooming daffodils appeals to you.
The Fox River Corridor Foundation has had that vision for several years, turning a large portion of Mount St. Mary Park in St. Charles into a dazzling display of daffodils every spring.
But foundation leaders must keep those thoughts fresh because it's time to remind volunteers of the daffodil bulb planting session at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at the park.
When another 5,000 bulbs are planted this year to match the 15,000 planted in past years, the foundation will hit its target of 20,000 daffodils gracing the park's west side walking path and the path outside of the park along Geneva Road (Route 31).
The daffodils bloom on both sides of the popular Mr. Eggwards sculpture and the stone wall it sits on and extends south through the park.
"We will be planting this year and next year and should have about 25,000 bulbs planted when we are all done," said John Rabchuk, coordinator for the foundation's Project Daffodil 2023.
"It's become just a beautiful part of the park, where people take family or wedding photos or photos of the plants," Rabchuk added.
The St. Charles Park District has supported the river foundation's efforts as a sponsor, partly because daffodils are perennials that don't call for a lot of park district maintenance.
When the blooming daffodils eventually fade out under the longer grasses and plants, the park district staff simply has to mow over the longer growth before winter sets in - and the daffodils reappear in the spring.
The idea for the daffodil planting unfolded during the COVID pandemic years and gained steam because it has been popular for visitors and planters alike, Rabchuk noted.
"My original idea was to cover the Langum Park sled hill with daffodils, but the park district pointed out that post-bloom daffodils aren't so great looking, and planting may cause erosion," Rabchuk explained. "They suggested Mount St. Mary Park because they mow the upright vegetation every fall, allowing us to plant, then it regrows to cover the post-bloom daffodils."
The Geneva Rotary Club in Geneva planted daffodils in Bennett Park on Geneva's east side years ago. That effort served as an inspiration to river foundation planners in St. Charles.
As it is now, the foundation has created a gorgeous stretch of daffodils in the spring dotted with about 150 native Virginia bluebells.
Heinz Brothers Greenhouse donates the daffodil bulbs yearly, and Midwest Groundcovers donates the Virginia bluebells.
The foundation has about 20 members who are joined by another 80 volunteers on the planting day. St. Charles Kiwanis and the Pottawatomie Garden Club supply many of those volunteers.
Volunteers will meet at the Mr. Eggwards sculpture in the park on the morning of the planting session.
Fill 'er up
In the ever-changing world of gas stations, the construction fencing, signs and excavators moving debris tell us that Thornton's gas station will replace the former Shell station at Main Street and Dunham Road in St. Charles.
That fencing extends along the front of the former and now-boarded Corfu Restaurant site so that the building and its parking lot appear earmarked for the wrecking ball.
The Franky's quick-serve hot dog restaurant, the Bosa Donuts shop, and Jersey Mike's sandwich shop along that portion of Main Street may not be enamored with all of the dust and dirt being kicked up with the Thornton's project, but patrons of those places have no worries at this point. They have been in place for many years, indicating they must be doing well.
Another development just to the east of those businesses is already in progress at Fieldgate Drive with the planned construction of an Andy's Frozen Custard store.
Andy's and other businesses will sit in the southwest corner of that east-side retail area, essentially just across the parking lot from Ace Hardware. Residents may recall that a Mid-America Bank building sat in that location for decades.
We've enjoyed visits to the Andy's South Elgin and Naperville stores, so we're ready to welcome this one with open arms and mouths.
'Vine' tickets in advance
It took a little getting used to when the Festival of the Vine location in Geneva last year shifted over to James Street from its previous site at Fourth and State streets, but one way to make transitions smooth is to get tickets in advance.
When things get crowded at a highly popular community event (Festival of the Vine is a good example), hunting down a ticket booth or getting in line to purchase tickets isn't impossible.
But it's not always necessary in this era of online digital tickets.
Before festival action picks up tonight and runs through Sunday for the food, wine, music, craft show, carriage rides and kids' events, you can get tickets ahead of time on the events link on the Geneva Chamber of Commerce website, genevachamber.com/events/festival-of-the-vine.
A QR code guides you to download the app needed to buy the $1 food and drink tickets in advance.
And, of course, tickets are available at the event, sold only in sheets of $10 and $20. General admission is free.
Last call at Cantina
When considering the soon-to-be closing of Sergio's Cantina and its upstairs 1910 Bar at 30 W. State St., there's a side of me that says I certainly liked this Geneva restaurant and bar. But the other side says I certainly didn't go there often.
We've dined at Sergio's or the 1910 Bar maybe a half dozen times, give or take, but also patronized it a couple of times during the carryout days of the COVID shutdown.
So, we'd be the kind of customers that maybe wouldn't have helped the cause - if financial considerations were a key driver here. We know hiring and retaining staff has become a major headache for small restaurant owners, so that's sometimes a heavy burden as well.
Regardless of the business or personal reasons, owners Sergio and Lindsey De Los Santos say they are preparing for another business venture and, thus, have decided to close the Cantina after nearly 16 years since opening in November of 2007.
What happens next at that corner is anyone's guess. When you throw in the many years Potter's operated out of that site, it's been a Mexican restaurant for decades.
The looming development of a Tapville Social Geneva bar and restaurant at the former Little Owl site across the street at 101 W. State St. would likely come into play in the minds of any potential future buyer or leaser of Sergio's site.
It could make for a difficult competitive scenario, or a Tapville Social Geneva could lift the tide of everything around it and further stifle the notion that a restaurant has to be on Third Street to do well.
Stockholm's, Ale House, Nobel House, Aurelio's Pizza, FoxFire, Burger and Sushi House and others have been doing just fine along State Street and, for many years, so did Sergio's Cantina.
And it shouldn't be too long before a ZaZa Pizzeria moves onto State Street in the location that Osteria Bigolaro is vacating.
Recognizing the heroes
We all encounter people we would consider everyday heroes for their work to make our communities better places day in and day out.
The Three Fires Council of the Boy Scouts of America takes it further in recognizing some of these people during its free "Tribute to Heroes" event on Thursday, Sept. 14, at Enticing Cuisine, 1117 N. Washington Ave. in Batavia.
Four Tri-Cities residents have earned the hero tribute for "exceptional selfless community service."
Those to be honored include Jon Gripe of St. Charles, a Distinguished Eagle Award winner; Pastor Jeffrey Mikyska of Bethany Lutheran Church in Batavia; George H. Scheetz, retired executive director of the Batavia Public Library; and Jaimie Valentini of Geneva, for work on the Rising Lights Project.
Festivities start at 6 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. A program featuring guest speaker Allen Lynch, an author and Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient, starts at 7 p.m.
Registration for the event is available by calling Kelly Quinn at (630) 797-4632 or visiting scoutingevent.com/127-74221.
Holmstad's positive market
The last of the weekly "garden markets" for residents at the Holmstad senior living community in Batavia was held last Tuesday, signaling an end to this particular outdoor activity for the season.
The Holmstad garden club, which cares for the flowers and vegetables in the numerous raised beds on the campus, has put away tools for the season, but its efforts again had positive outcomes.
The club members arrange flowers in small bouquets and offer zucchini, squash, lettuce, tomatoes, green beans or beets for sale to fellow residents and Holmstad employees.
Leftover produce is donated to the Batavia Food Pantry. Proceeds from weekly sales go toward the cost of gardening supplies or are donated to Holmstad's benevolent care fund.
dheun@sbcglobal.net